Occupation(s) Musician Genres Jazz Education Wellesley College | Name Henry Coker Instruments Trombone | |
Born December 24, 1919
Dallas, Texas ( 1919-12-24 ) Died November 23, 1979, Los Angeles, California, United States Similar People Benny Powell, Charles Fowlkes, Marshal Royal, Wendell Culley, Sonny Payne | ||
Dec. 24, 1919 Henry Coker "L'épopée du Birdland"
Henry Coker (December 24, 1919 – November 23, 1979) was an American jazz trombonist.
Contents
Biography
Coker was born in Dallas. He studied music at Wellesley College before making his professional debut with John White in 1935. From 1937 to 1939 he played with Nat Towles's territory band, then moved to Hawaii to play with Monk McFay. After Pearl Harbor Coker returned to California, playing with Benny Carter (1944–46), Illinois Jacquet (1945), Eddie Heywood (1946–47), and Charles Mingus (late '40s). Coker fell ill from 1949 to 1951 and played little, and after his recovery he worked with Sonny Rollins and then joined Count Basie's band, playing and recording with him from 1952 to 1963.
Coker did work as a studio musician in the 1960s, then toured with Ray Charles from 1966 to 1971. He did freelance and film/television studio work in the mid-1970s, rejoining Basie briefly in 1973 and Charles in 1976. Osie Johnson wrote a tribute to him entitled "Cokernut Tree" in 1955. Coker appeared on J.J. Johnson's Trombones Incorporated session, featuring ten trombonists.
He died in Los Angeles, aged 59.
Personal life
Coker had two sons: Scott Cameron Coker, who resides in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Craig Henry Coker (August 15, 1960 – January 10, 2013).
Discography
With Count Basie
With Kenny Clarke
With Frank Foster
With Osie Johnson
With Thad Jones
With Trombones
With Dizzy Gillespie
With Freddie Green
With Tadd Dameron
With Frank Wess